Camp Nizhoni
Camp Nizhoni
A YWCA Camp for African American Girls, Established in 1927
Camp Nizhoni, meaning "beautiful" in Navajo, was a groundbreaking YWCA camp created for African American girls who were excluded from other camps due to racial segregation. Established in 1927 by the Phillis Wheatley Branch of the YWCA, the camp provided young women with a space to connect with nature, develop outdoor skills, and foster a sense of community.
Here are some facts about this historical camp:
- The YWCA girl’s camp, “Camp Nizhoni,” the name having been derived from the Navajo word for “beautiful.”
- The camp, established in 1927 by the Phillis Wheatley Branch of the YWCA, was for young women and girls who were prohibited, because of their race, from attending the YWCA girls’ camp at Lookout Mountain.
- The Phillis Wheatley branch—named for eighteenth-century poet and emancipated slave Phillis Wheatley—had been running the camp for girls since 1920, at various locations near Boulder and Idaho Springs. In 1925, thanks to the LHDC, the Phillis Wheatley Branch was able to establish the camp in a permanent location.
- As many as 50 girls attended the camp each summer, and the young campers at Camp Nizhoni hiked, went on overnight campouts, and learned much about plant and animal biology, astronomy, and other outdoor skills. Campers even learned to pan for gold.
- Camp Nizhoni operated until 1946, when the financial situation of the Phillis Wheatley Chapter became too strained to continue operations, and the buildings were sold
